Grinning in agreement with Shalelu's comment, Lyrasel gives the room a thorough investigation on Spivey's suggestion though her mind is clearly on something else.
Kenji nods. "We should keep pressing forward." he agrees.
Searching the paperwork in the room determines that it's fragile and has been here for a while, and much of it is torn or bloodstained. You determine fairly quickly that this room was used for planning military actions and formulating battle plans - there are several pages with scribbled troop formations noted as "Proposal #1, 2, 3" and so on.
Under one of the bodies is a chapbook that, upon perusal, is filled with notes that look like meeting minutes. Each set of notes starts with a date and they describe in abbreviated form the various discussion by the guard-captain of Brinewall Keep with his troops or with the leaders of the Keep.
The final entry describes that there has been some kind of disturbance in the village and the guard-captain is assembling a force to see what is happening and restore order. One note speculates the possibility of some kind of revolt happening.
Based on what you've seen so far, it is more likely that the village was invaded by these outsiders and so rapidly overrun that the keep was sieged and invaded before the defenders here could respond.
Shalelu motions for Bernard to advance while she covers him from behind the doorway. Bernard slips into the nearby room and Shalelu slinks around the corner and hugs the wall. There's not a lot of cover, though, which makes stealth difficult.
Several ruined beds lie in various states of disrepair in this room, their moldy mattresses piled into a filthy heap against the northern wall.
Once in this barrack you can tell that the lizard-creatures were using the moldy mattresses; dark stains of their smelly, oily secretions cover the fabric.
Shalelu relaxes her bow and points to the eastern wall. Bernard doesn't see anything, so the ranger hustles to the wall and traces an outline there. Then she crouches and pushes on something and part of the wall clicks and moves slightly - with another push she is able to open a secret door just far enough that people could slip through it.
Bernard doesn't hear anything from the other side.
Bernard waves his hands in front of his face and covers his eyes. He points to Shalelu.
Shalelu squints, then holds her hand close to her face, nearly pinching her fingers together.
She peeks again, then scurries back to the group in the war planning room.
"There's a tiny bit of light, so I was able to see a little... some kind of long rug, and a large throne on a dais at the end. An audience chamber?"
"Must be the throne room... this is a castle, right?" Kenji reasons. "Was anyone there?"
"Didn't see anyone. Odd. Can't really tell much, though. Dim," says Shalelu.
Bernard comes too.
Well again, either we move on or we might as well wait at the caravan. Let's go inside. Anyone got a light? He pulls a torch out of his pack. Also I obviously won't be shooting much if I carry this.
Morgrym looks a little sheepish as the others express distaste for the lizard goo.
Well, i could have hit them less hard. As for that torch, put it away.
He then casts light on shalilu's quiver.
This should let you see, and cover it if necessary.
"That will help. The light will extend how far most of us can see in the darkness, though it will make us a bit of a target. Let's get this over with." Lyraesel says as they make to head back the way Shalelu had scouted.
Kenji opens his hand, palm up, creating a palm of fire. He'll take Bernard's torch and 'pass' the flame to the torch. "I'll hold it." he says.
You advance cautiously into what was once an audience chamber, complete with a red carpet leading up to the throne.
From the smell in here, Lyraesel can tell that more of the dire corbies have been in here, but there is no sign of them. Also, oddly, the room is free of detritus or black feathers, as if it has been cleaned.
There are several obvious exits but no foes at this time, and you note that a staircase in the southeast probably goes up to the same dining room - and you hear noise from that direction, the sound of... eating, perhaps.
"Ah, they're having dinner." Kenji whispers. "Means most of them are going to be in that room. Would be a terrible fight if we got their attention now. Anyone got any bombs?" he asks in a quiet tone. "What I wouldn't give for a crate of those fireworks right about now."
Haskyll pulls out his acid flask.
This is all that I have.
He looks at the others.
"The one magical fire arrow is all." Lyraesel answers. "Though if we attack them from the entrance, then fall back, they can't overwhelm us on the stairs."
I have some arrows that can catch them on fire, but they must be lit first.
Kenji looks at the torch, then back at Bernard. "I can light stuff." he says plainly. "just stay near me."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Sorry," says Shalelu. "Best I have are some sleep arrows. No alchemical fire or fireworks."
Spivey says, "Well... that explains why they're all in one place. But they definitely know that something is wrong, as you killed some of them up there! So once they leave they'll almost certainly be on the look-out. What do we do? Try to barricade them in the dining room? Or wait for them to finish and try to pick them off when they split up?"
Kenji's face lights up. "I like that second suggestion, Spivey!" he whispers.
"We hunt them. I'm fine with that," Lyraesel says.
Anything but an all-out brawl. That'd be horrid.
Hunting them sounds good as well. which means that we will have to hide until they are out of there. I for one, don't hide well.
Shalelu says, "The risk here is, the closer we are, the more information we'll get, but the more likely we'll be seen. If we stay in the stables, we probably won't be found but we won't spot them, either. Maybe the parlor where we fought the quickling? I'm not sure which place is the best idea."
"That parlor... What about where the two nearly naked wrestling dudes were?" kenji asks. "They had to have come from somewhere."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Yes we already passed through a room that smelled like them. I thin the parlor might be netter though. I get the feeling even the dire corbies left her alone." Lyraesel says.
"Had those unfortunate taxidermies," says Shalelu in a clipped tone. "Enough to be off-putting to anyone."
So I guess we will be able to say to the first hunting group, welcome to my parlour, before we kill them?
Morgrym laughs lightly before he follows the group back towards the parlour.
Spivey says, "Sounds a little bit creepy, when you put it that way."
You return to the parlor with the oddly-posed and decorated corpses. There you wait... spending a little under an hour in quiet discussion, study, doing whatever will pass the time.
Eventually you hear footsteps in the distance, and you quiet down and strain to listen. The keen-eared among you are able to discern the squawking of dire corbies as they shuffle down the staircase from the dining room and spread out. You must rely on what you can hear, because from this position you can't actually see the dining room or the audience hall.
You hear several of the corbies heading south, outside of the keep - possibly to the courtyard or the gate, maybe the towers. You did see some at the gatehouse earlier, after all.
You also hear some conversation coming from the audience hall, followed by some raised voices. The voices are distant enough that it's hard to make out everything, but you manage to hear:
"No! No! No! I told you, on point! Over there!"
...
"Hahahaha! Yes! Excellent! Keep going!
...
"STOP! You're RUINING my VISION! Look, just... <mumble>"
...
"Are you doing this on PURPOSE? DON'T CROSS ME OR I'LL TAKE YOU TO PLAY WITH BUTTERSNIPS!"
Morgrym goes over and stands in the line of the posed corpses.
He then sits and waits for the door to open, at which time, he will stand, and adopt a pose that matches somewhat the other corpses.
But he will have a weapon in hand.
Sounds like there's their boss. Kenji thinks. He takes the other side of the door from Morgrym, wondering if the guy will actually come along or not.
"Voices in the audience hall. Do we strike them now while many of tha others are outside, or wait and pick off the corbies first?" Lyraesel whispers.
Morgrym waits for the answer to Lyraesels whispered question, while he takes his feet, and waits for the door to open.
"Let's give it a few minutes. If they've not dispersed by then, we might as well go out and take them down." he says.
Vivnick murmurs softly, "I agree with Kenji. Let's try to wait them out. They're going to be difficult en masse."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Before the action begins, Bernard holds out a torch for Kenji to light.
Kenji, light this for me? I'm gonna need fire and you will probably have your hands full doing what you usually do. Plus, then we won't have to be joined at the hip.
Kenji pokes the torch-head, lighting it aflame. "Good idea." he says, readying himself for battle."[/b]
You listen for several minutes, and the ruckus continues - shuffling and muffled speech in the distance, occasionally punctuated by angry shouting or, sometimes, cackling laughter. There's no sign of it slowing down quickly; even after ten minutes it's still going. Whatever they're doing in there, it's going to go on for a while.
"Wish we could see what it is..." mumbles Shalelu, "but there's no cover to sneak in, and those monsters can see in the dark, too."
"Then we go." Kenji says. "Together. Be ready for anything."
Lyreasel nods, readying her bow as she falls in behind Kenji. "We hit hard an fast. If Kenji keeps them burning we'll see well enough."
Morgrym laughs. There is no smell like burnt orc.
He follows along side Kenji
Bernard pulls out a pair of incendiary arrows, and holds them lightly in his teeth. He carries his bow in one hand and the torch in the other.
After you.
Kenji will lead the way to the sounds of the commotion.
You move stealthily through the ballroom, to the doors that connect to the audience hall, and the stealthy among you hang at the corner of the hallway where they connect and try to look around to see what's happening.
Seated on the throne at the end of the hall is a twisted-looking man with red skin and an enormous, almost rectangular nose, several inches long. He rants and occasionally jumps up, shouting at the four dire corbies in the hall, which are squawking and taking odd poses. It seems like he is directing them in some kind of play - a task for which the corbies are very ill-suited.
"Better to strike while they're distracted." Lyraesel whispers.
"Let arrows fly. Vivnick and Morgrym be the front line, I'll move to flank and cook." Kenji whispers, giving out a quick battle plan.
Lyraesel steps up, firing the magical fire arrow directly at the long nosed man.
One moment.
Bernard lays the torch down and ignites his two arrows, then loops around the corner and fires them quickly into the nearest corby.
Morgrym barrels around the corner, and sets himself in the hall, and braces for the upcoming attacks.
Kenji remains out of sight, holding to see how they react.